Emirates Leisure Retail

What Emirates Leisure Retail does

Emirates Leisure Retail (ELR) is a Dubai-headquartered food and beverage operator and a subsidiary of MMI, which sits within the Emirates Group. The company runs a portfolio of 300+ outlets across the Middle East, Australasia, the United States, and East Africa, including more than 100 travel-retail outlets across 21 airports in 6 countries. Its model combines two reinforcing engines: master franchise and licensing agreements for global brands — notably Costa Coffee (160+ stores in the UAE, extended to at least 2040 in November 2025) and Pret A Manger in the UAE — alongside a portfolio of proprietary concepts such as Hudson's Coffee, Heineken House, AFL Kitchen and Bar, Asian Street Kitchen, Tiger Den, Grill District, and Harbor Grill. Regional operations are run through wholly-owned subsidiaries including ELR Australia, ELR New Zealand, ELR Singapore, ZOMA (Zanzibar), and a majority interest in Air Ventures (28 outlets at 8 US airports, acquired in 2020).

ELR makes money through three integrated revenue streams: licensing royalties and franchise fees plus retail food and beverage sales from franchised brands; airport concession economics (transaction fees and rent/share-of-sales) across master concessionaire contracts and individual outlet concessions; and direct sales from owned restaurant, cafe, and bar concepts in malls, standalone locations, and airports. Go-to-market is channel-led, anchored on long-dated franchise rights and airport authority concessions; recent moves include a 2026 ENOC/Zoom partnership that places Costa Coffee into UAE convenience retail and a 2026 Gelatissimo entry into Brisbane International Airport. The customer base is split between individual travelers and mall/street consumers (B2C) and enterprise counterparties such as airport authorities and the ENOC Group. There is no proprietary technology platform disclosed; operational differentiation rests on multi-geography execution, brand portfolio breadth, and the backing of the Emirates Group via MMI.

Name

Emirates Leisure Retail

Legal name

Emirates Leisure Retail

Website

https://emiratesleisureretail.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Emirates Leisure Retail is a Dubai-based food and beverage operator running 300+ outlets across 6 countries via master franchise agreements (Costa Coffee, Pret A Manger), proprietary restaurant concepts, and airport concession contracts at 21 international terminals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Airport Food and Beverage Services

NAICS

Food Services and Drinking Places (722), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Airport Food & Beverage Concessions (THABALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concession & Stadium / Arena Catering (THAFAIAG), Foodservice-Led Convenience Stores (QSR/Hot Food Focus) (CRAHABAH)

Keywords

• Airport food retail
• Master franchise operations
• Specialty coffee chains
• Travel retail dining
• Restaurant brand operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Franchise Operations: ELR operates as master franchisee/licensee for global brands including Costa Coffee (160+ stores in UAE) and Pret A Manger (UAE), generating revenue through franchise fees, royalties, and retail sales of food and beverages.
2. Airport F&B Retail: ELR operates 100+ outlets across 21 airports in 6 countries, managing travel retail food and beverage operations including concessions, proprietary concepts, and branded partnerships at international and domestic terminals.
3. Owned Restaurant Concepts: ELR develops and operates proprietary restaurant, cafe, and bar brands across multiple geographies including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, US, and East Africa, blending global brands with bespoke local concepts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Emirates Leisure Retail (ELR) operates a portfolio of more than 300 food and beverage outlets across six countries, acting as the UAE master franchisee for Costa Coffee (160+ stores) and Pret A Manger, while running proprietary restaurant, cafe and bar brands such as ZOMA, Hudson's Coffee, Heineken House, AFL Kitchen and Bar, Asian Street Kitchen, Tiger Den, Grill District and Harbor Grill. Approximately 100 of these outlets sit within 21 airports in 6 countries, including terminal concessions, duty-free F&B and master concessionaire projects such as the ZOMA operation at Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport.

Product overview

Emirates Leisure Retail (ELR) is a diversified food and beverage retail operator managing a portfolio of 300+ outlets across the Middle East, Australasia, the USA, and East Africa. The company operates across two business models: (1) Master franchisee for global brands including Costa Coffee (160+ stores in UAE), Pret A Manger (UAE), and licensed concepts like Wolfgang Puck's The Bistro; and (2) Own brands developed in-house such as ZOMA (Zanzibar), Hudson's Coffee, Heineken House, AFL Kitchen and Bar, Asian Street Kitchen, and Tiger Den. ELR also acquired Air Ventures in 2020 to enter the US market with 28 outlets featuring Dunkin Donuts, Peet's Coffee, Not Your Average Joe's, Miss Shirley's, Grill District, and Harbor Grill. Over 100 of ELR's 300+ outlets are in 21 airports across 6 countries, with operations spanning airport dining, duty-free food & beverage, and convenience retail.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZOMA: Award-winning Master Concessionaire project at Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, providing authentic Zanzibar food and beverage and duty-free experiences.
• Air Ventures

Products and services

• Costa Coffee (UAE Master Franchise) Operates 160+ Costa Coffee stores across the UAE under a master franchise agreement extended through 2040, serving specialty coffee and food to consumers in malls, airports and commercial locations. The Costa loyalty app operated under this franchise was ranked best in the region.
• Pret A Manger (UAE Master Franchise) Operates Pret A Manger stores in the UAE as master franchisee, offering freshly prepared food, organic coffee and grab-and-go items to consumers, including food donation initiatives at the end of each day.
• ZOMA (Zanzibar Master Concessionaire) Award-winning master concessionaire project at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport in Zanzibar, providing passengers with authentic Zanzibar food, beverage and duty-free experiences.
• Air Ventures (US Airport F&B Operations)

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• GelatissimominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Strategic partnership to open Gelatissimo retail storefront inside Brisbane International Airport's upcoming dining precinct. Features modified store design adapted for transit operations. Marks brand positioning as one of few dedicated gelato operators in Australian airport terminals.
• ENOC (Emirates National Oil Company Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 January 2026Partnership to expand Costa Coffee across ENOC's Zoom convenience-store network in UAE. Positions Costa Coffee to compete directly with Starbucks in UAE convenience retail segment.
• Costa CoffeecoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerELR is master franchisee of Costa Coffee in the UAE, operating 160+ stores. Extended franchise rights for 15 years in November 2025, taking the partnership until at least 2040. Costa Coffee loyalty app ranked best in region.
• Pret A MangercoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerELR is master franchisee of Pret in the UAE, bringing Pret's ethos of freshly made food and organic coffee to the region. Supports local communities through food donation initiatives.
• Air VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerELR acquired majority interest in Air Ventures in 2020, entering the US market. Air Ventures operates 28 outlets at 8 US airports with brands including Dunkin Donuts, Peet's Coffee, Not Your Average Joe's, Miss Shirley's, and homegrown concepts like Grill District and Harbor Grill.
• Wolfgang PuckminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorELR operates The Bistro by Wolfgang Puck in Australia, bringing premium dining brand to airport locations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sodexo: France-listed global food services and facilities management group with an airport and travel-leisure F&B vertical alongside broader contract catering and on-site services. Competes with ELR in travel-leisure hospitality but with a substantially broader service portfolio.
• Lagardère Travel Retail: Global travel-retail group encompassing F&B, duty-free, and specialty retail across airports. Overlaps with ELR in airport F&B concessions but operates a much broader retail portfolio and at much larger scale.
• Elior Group: France-listed contract caterer operating across Europe with meaningful airport concessions and travel-leisure hospitality. Overlaps with ELR's airport concessions model but with broader emphasis on contract catering across B&I, education, and healthcare.

Direct peers

• Autogrill: Italian-headquartered travel-food operator with thousands of F&B points in motorways and airports worldwide (now part of Lagardère/Avolta). Comparable to ELR in franchise + proprietary concept mix, geographic diversification, and reliance on transit passenger traffic.
• Areas: Spain-headquartered operator of F&B, retail, and duty-free concessions across airports, motorways, and train stations in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Closely comparable footprint to ELR's travel-retail F&B operations, with similar concessionaire/brand-portfolio model.
• Delaware North: US-based global hospitality operator with a substantial travel-hospitality F&B business (airports and sports/entertainment venues). Like ELR, operates proprietary and franchised F&B brands inside high-traffic venues with comparable concession models.
• OTG: US-based airport F&B and retail operator present across major US hubs. Comparable to ELR's Air Ventures operations in scale, airport-only focus, and brand mix (mix of franchise brands plus proprietary concepts).
• SSP Group: UK-listed operator of food and beverage concessions in airports and railway stations across ~30 countries. Directly comparable to ELR in business model (master franchise + own brand mix in transit hubs), breadth of geography, and unit-level concession economics.
• HMSHost: North American/global airport F&B concessions specialist operating thousands of outlets across US and Canadian airports. Closely comparable operating model to ELR: multi-brand mix of franchise and proprietary concepts inside terminals, with comparable airport-concession economics.

Others

• Gategroup: Swiss-headquartered airline catering and in-flight services provider. Serves the same airport ecosystem as ELR and shares aviation-traffic exposure, but operates an upstream catering model rather than F&B retail concessions for passengers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emirates-leisure-retail/posts/?feedView=all

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emirates Leisure Retail